Say
Old English secgan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeggen and German sagen .
wiktionary
From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, from Old English seċġan(“to say, speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną(“to say”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-h₁-yé-, a suffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ-(“to tell, talk”).
Cognate with West Frisian sizze(“to say”), Dutch zeggen(“to say”), German sagen(“to say”), Danish sige(“to say”), Norwegian Bokmål si(“to say”), Norwegian Nynorsk seia(“to say”), Swedish säga(“to say”), Yiddish זאָגן (zogn, “to say; to tell”).
The adverb and interjection are from the verb.
From Middle French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum(“military cloak”).
Aphetic form of assay.
say (plural says)
etymonline
say (v.)
Old English secgan "to utter, inform, speak, tell, relate," from Proto-Germanic *sagjanan (source also of Old Saxon seggian, Old Norse segja, Danish sige, Old Frisian sedsa, Middle Dutch segghen, Dutch zeggen, Old High German sagen, German sagen "to say"), from PIE *sokwyo-, from root *sekw- (3) "to say, utter" (source also of Hittite shakiya- "to declare," Lithuanian sakyti "to say," Old Church Slavonic sociti "to vindicate, show," Old Irish insce "speech," Old Latin inseque "to tell say").
Past tense said developed from Old English segde. Not attested in use with inanimate objects (clocks, signs, etc.) as subjects before 1930. You said it "you're right" first recorded 1919; you can say that again as a phrase expressing agreement is recorded from 1942, American English. You don't say (so) as an expression of astonishment (often ironic) is first recorded 1779, American English.
say (n.)
"what someone says," 1570s, from say (v.). Meaning "right or authority to influence a decision" is from 1610s. Extended form say-so is first recorded 1630s. Compare Old English secge "speech."
